WALDNER: LMU's Good has the Lions back on track

There was Max Good standing at the podium during a basketball preseason luncheon at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. And there was a "John Wooden Award" on the wall behind him.

Good requested someone, anyone, point a camera at him and the banner and click away.

"I want a picture so the people in Maine can see Max Good and John Wooden in the same picture," he joked.

The former coach of prep school basketball powerhouse Maine Central Institute unexpectedly became LMU's coach two seasons ago when Bill Bayno opted out.

Those who have watched LMU struggle since the glory years when Paul Westhead coached Hank Gathers and Bo Kimble there will suggest unpretentious is a necessary requirement to coach the Lions these days.

The thing about Good is he is not a one-note guy.

He is anything but warm and cuddly, or unpretentious, during practice and games.

As he told Brian Keefe, now an assistant with the Oklahoma City Thunder, when Keefe worked for him at Bryant University: "Kids take kindness for weakness."

His players have yet to spot the first sign of weakness on the basketball court.

Good is proud his players do not write headlines from courts having absolutely nothing to do with basketball.

"My dad used to tell me cemeteries and prisons are full of people who make bad 5-second decisions," he said. "I was sick of hearing that from him. Now my players are sick of hearing that from me."

He has additional straight-from-the-shoulder messages on subjects ranging from taking care of the basketball to conduct.

"I tell the players, don't call me from jail because I'll tell them to put the (cell) key on a rabbit's back and kick it in the (you know where)," he said without blinking.

How's that for tough love?

As his players will tell you, there is nothing relaxed about Good when basketball is involved.

"If you are not happy, I'll give you a road map and an apple and you can be on your way," he said.

All this said, the players did not quit on him, or themselves, when losing was a fact of LMU basketball life.

That's both because of who they are and who is coaching them.

"You have to care about players for them to play hard," he said. "But being polite does not get the best out of them."

Good developed a top-of-

the-line Division II program with five straight NCAA Division II appearances at Bryant, which is located in Springfield, a Rhode Island town roughly the size of Manhattan Beach.

He left Bryant for LMU's struggling program to become senior assistant for his friend Bayno. That's "struggling program" as in the Lions posted only one winning record in the previous 16 seasons.

Bayno, a former UNLV coach, arrived in Westchester from Portland, where he was an assistant for the NBA's Trailblazers. He arrived with great expectations, which went out the window when, after three games, all losses, he "resigned for medical reasons."

Enter Good. Despite a strong resume, he was an unknown commodity on the West Coast. His 3-24 record, even as the players did not quit, did nothing to enhance his credibility.

The Lions continued to play hard last season, this time with positive results, this time posting an 18-16 record with wins over USC and Notre Dame.

Reflecting newfound credibility, LMU is picked to finish second to Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference this season. The Lions even drew a first-place vote in the WCC coaches' poll.

Remembering: Sparky Anderson's ability as a manager is why he is in baseball's Hall of Fame. His ability to be a nice person is why no one in baseball had more friends.

Opinion: The Milwaukee Brewers made an excellent decision when they hired Angels bench coach Ron Roenicke as their manager.

Suggestion box: Southern Mississippi is interested in Cleshawn Page, Harbor College's excellent cornerback. With a provision. Southern Miss wants proof he's 5-foot-10. Apparently they do not trust what they have seen of him on film. A suggestion: They should commit to Page before another school swoops in and locks him up.

Bottom line: Auburn should be embarrassed and should have been dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 in the BCS standings for having played Chattanooga.